Who’s leaving Emmerdale in 2022? With the 50th anniversary scenes claiming the lives of four characters, will any more be on their way out?
Katherine Dow Blyton has left as Harriet Finch, Isobel Steele departed as Liv Flaherty and Sally Dexter has gone as Faith Dingle.
Who will be following them out of the door?
And is anyone returning to Emmerdale? Or newcomers starting?
Here’s our round-up of who’s coming and going in 2022.
Who’s leaving Emmerdale in 2022?
Vanessa Woodfield
Actress Michelle Hardwick announced she was expecting her second baby earlier this year. Michelle revealed the gender on Loose Women last month.
Michelle and wife Kate Brooks already have son, Teddy, who is nearly two.
Her pregnancy means Vanessa will be off screens again later this year.
The baby is due this winter and with Emmerdale filming up to six weeks in advance, it’s likely viewers will see Michelle until around Christmas time.
With Vanessa and Suzy giving things another go, what does the future hold for their romance? Is there more heartbreak ahead?
Kerry Wyatt
There’s a lot going on for Kerry Wyatt at the moment as she is close to finding out about her cheating fiancé Al Chapman, and she has also revealed herself as Chloe Harris’s real mother.
But all of this is building up to a temporary exit for actress Laura Norton.
She has recently given birth to her second child, with fiancé Mark Jordon, so will be set to depart our screens any day now.
Her exit storyline has not been revealed, but like last time, she’s expected to take roughly a year away from the Dales.
What drama will cause her to leave this time?
Al Chapman
Emmerdale star Michael Wildman was killed off in dramatic fashion on Tuesday November 2.
After three years of playing Al Chapman, the actor reportedly quit the role to pursue other projects.
A source told The Sun: “Michael has really enjoyed his time on Emmerdale but it’s the right thing to move on.
“He’s had some massive storylines but all good things must come to an end.”
After Cain found out about his sister’s affair with Al, he lured his nemesis to a desserted barn.
He then held him at gunpoint before a fight broke out. As both reached for the gun, a shot was fired.
And it was revealed on Tuesday that Al had been the victim.
So that’s the end of Al.
Priya Sharma
Fiona Wade has reportedly quit Emmerdale as Priya Sharma.
Fiona first appeared as Priya in 2011. But it has now been reported that she will be leaving the show.
The news was confirmed by ITV to Digital Spy and Fiona will be leaving to pursue other acting roles.
Although her exit storyline has not been announced, she is believed to be filming her final scenes in the next few months.
Cain Dingle
Although actor Jeff Hordley has made no announcement that he is departing the soap, he finds himself in quite the mess this week.
Cain has been involved in an ongoing feud with Al Chapman.
After luring Al to a barn and threatening him with a shotgun, a fight saw the gun go off.
Al was shot and killed.
Cain was arrested and charged with his murder – but what really happened?
The evidence is pretty strong and if Cain doesn’t find a way out of this one, he will end up in jail for the rest of his life.
Returning
Tracy Metcalfe
Tracy‘s off for a while as actress Amy Walsh is on maternity leave with her first baby.
She and Nate have broken up after he cheated with Fiona, who we now know was Vanessa’s girlfriend!
Vanessa was determined to keep Nate and Tracy apart, but she didn’t plan on Tracy taking up a new job in Nottingham.
She has gone to help other struggling new mums to cope, but she will be back at some point.
Although Amy and partner Toby-Alexander Smith are in the baby bubble with their adorable daughter Bonnie, Tracy made a brief return for the 50th anniversary celebrations.
It saw her and Nate hook-up again, but he left her heartbroken when he went back to girlfriend, Naomi.
Tracy’s comeback was temporary and Amy is expected to reprise her role permanently soon. But will she and Nate reunite for a third time?
Read more: Complete Emmerdale cast list – meet them all here!
Arriving
Emmerdale has not announced any new arrivals to the cast recently.
The last member to join was Naomi Walters, played by Karene Peter.
**This article was last updated in November 2022 to reflect ongoing cast changes in Emmerdale.
Emmerdale usually airs weeknights at 7.30pm on ITV, with an hour-long episode on Thursdays.
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